Basin Management Action Plans

Since 2019, Florida has made record investments in Everglades restoration, dedicating $3.2 billion in state funding to expedite and make progress on key projects. Since 2019, more than 70 Everglades restoration projects have been completed, hit a major milestone or broken ground. Further, proactive Lake Okeechobee operations have helped reduce harmful estuary discharges while maximizing flows south. This has led to record flows and water depths in the Everglades which, coupled with rainfall, have supported the health of Florida Bay.

Florida also has our own state-led efforts through the NEEPP BMAPs. To compliment the massive Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan projects, these NEEPP projects pinpoint pollution problems while addressing them. These projects include stormwater treatment areas, flow equalization basins and dispersed water management projects strategically located in areas with the highest loading of nutrients to Lake Okeechobee and the associated estuaries.

DEP’s Office of Water Policy and Ecosystem Restoration continues to work with the SFWMD to prioritize and implement a suite of large-scale regional water quality and water quantity improvement projects coupled with smaller sub-regional projects serving the same goals through the NEEPP.

Executive Order 23-06 called for $3.5 billion over four years for Everglades restoration and protection of water resources, including water quality and supply, to continue this momentum. Florida is well on its way to achieving this goal with more than $3.2 billion already dedicated.

Some notable Everglades Restoration projects include:

• Completion of the Taylor Slough Flow Improvement Project, which will move more water south to Florida Bay where it is needed to balance salinity levels and promote ecological health.
• Completion of the C-44 Reservoir and Stormwater Treatment Area, which will make a significant impact in reducing nutrient pollution in the St. Lucie Estuary.
• Completion of the Old Tamiami Trail Road Removal project six months ahead of schedule, which allows water to naturally sheetflow south into Everglades National Park and Florida Bay.
• Breaking ground on the Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoir Project.

In 2021, the Florida Legislature created sections 403.9301 and 403.9302, F.S., requiring local governments to compile and submit stormwater management and wastewater service projections to DEP and the Office of Economic and Demographic Research. This information provides the state with an understanding of water quality infrastructure funding needs. It also informs BMAP planning.

In addition, wastewater and OSTDS remediation plans required by the Clean Waterways Act have been developed by local governments for incorporation into BMAPs by July 1, 2025. These plans will also be used to inform BMAP planning.

BMAPs are also being reviewed every five years to ensure changes in the landscape are incorporated, along with additional water quality information.

As a result of this recommendation, nitrogen reductions are being identified, tracked and reported for all nitrogen-reducing projects listed in the Lake Okeechobee BMAP.

DEP’s Division of Environmental Assessment and Restoration along with the SJRWMD are developing a new model that will cover the entire St. Johns River system, including the upper St. Johns River basin. This model is intended to be used to develop additional TMDLs and update BMAPs, as needed. This model development is ongoing and is estimated to take between four and five years to complete.

In 2020, an Interagency Legacy Phosphorus Team comprised of DEP, SFWMD and DACS was established to help pinpoint key issues surrounding legacy phosphorus affecting the achievement of water quality goals, provide recommendations and potential measures to address legacy phosphorus associated with water quality problems, and to identify additional research and monitoring needs to support the recommendations. SFWMD continues to monitor and collect data to assist with this effort.

SFWMD has also partnered with DACS and the Archbold Biological Station on a study aimed at identifying hotspots of soil legacy phosphorus and implementing targeted vegetation harvesting for remediation on a cattle ranch in the Everglades. This two-year study will provide information on ways to remediate legacy nutrients from historic land use practices.

Muck removal is also being done in some areas to help with removing legacy nutrients. DEP continues to evaluate emerging innovative technologies that may assist in addressing excess legacy nutrients.

The Clean Waterways Act required local governments, within nutrient BMAPs, to develop remediation plans for wastewater treatment facilities and OSTDS where they contribute at least 20% of the nutrient pollution, or DEP determines remediation is necessary. BMAPs are being amended to incorporate these plans and update policies to include water quality related requirements for growth. This is also aiding in identifying necessary projects to address the nutrient sources from wastewater.

HB 1379 (2023) builds on this by requiring:

• A list of projects that achieve 5-year implementation milestones and meet TMDL allocations.
• Specific list of regional projects to achieve nutrient reductions established for agricultural nonpoint sources.
• By 2033, all wastewater facilities discharging to an impaired waterway must be upgraded to AWT.
• Additionally, this enhances protections for the IRL by establishing the Indian River Lagoon Protection Program, which includes a comprehensive water quality monitoring program and requirements for new and existing septic systems within the IRL watershed.
• In addition, current regulations prohibit permitting new septic systems on lots of one acre or less where sewer is available or, where not available, new septic systems must have enhanced nutrient treatment or other wastewater treatment that achieves a nitrogen reduction of at least 65%.

Since 2019, more than $3.3 billion in state funding has been dedicated to the protection and restoration of our water resources. Through various grant opportunities, DEP has prioritized and accelerated the completion of more than 1,000 projects throughout the state. This includes the Water Quality Improvement Grant Program, which expands the former Wastewater Grant Program (created in 2023) to now include additional types of eligible projects – including upgrades and repairs to wastewater and stormwater infrastructure such as upgrading to AWT, septic-to-sewer conversions, and projects to address agricultural nonpoint sources – as well as additional areas of the state that are now eligible for this program. 

Also, funding is available for implementation of agricultural BMPs and other water quality projects through regional grant funding, such as Springs Grants, Biscayne Bay, Springs Coast, IRL or other watersheds throughout the state.

In February 2020, DEP approved the first Targeted Restoration Areas approach for NEEPP BMAPs. This effort assists with the prioritization of projects and restoration efforts to achieve watershed targets more quickly while efficiently utilizing resources. Water quality monitoring plans in BMAPs have been updated to better track BMAP progress, focusing on the location and frequency of monitoring.

To better prioritize and focus resources to most efficiently achieve restoration in surface water BMAPs, a hot spot analysis approach uses measured data collected throughout the watershed to evaluate TN and TP concentrations. The results of these analyses are used to prioritize resources for restoration and not to measure progress towards restoration or compliance.

Monitoring is also being expanded in the springs BMAPs to better understand the quality of the groundwater in the springsheds and to better capture water quality benefits of implemented projects. DEP is working to develop a sampling schedule that will eventually allow for trend analysis of groundwater conditions.

Further, BMAPs are also now being reviewed every five years to ensure changes in the landscape are incorporated, along with additional water quality information.